Today was a great day. It was great to see the houses come quickly together, but even more amazing to see the relationships we started yesterday break out today. At site 1, the family was overjoyed to see us come back. The grandmother of the family was delighted to see the girls and ladies on the team, and tried talking with them throughout the day. Kids came from all over (partially because of the CBS earlier in the day), but they wanted to jump in and help.
At site 2, the family’s only son came home from the hospital. The father, who yesterday helped hammer but was very serious and quite, initiated conversation with us. While I no very little Spanish, and Bulmaro (the father) knows little English, we talked and laughed a little. Bulmaro jumped in with a paint brush and borrowed a hammer when needed. We wrote his name of the hammer and gave it to him… it did not leave his hands the rest of the time. The family’s pain is still very real, as the 14 year old son would not talk to us. For him, it was the first time seeing the site since the fire.
While the tasks on the homes changed, the kids went out in the streets to play. We have purchased 4 soccer balls at night at a Walmart close to the camp we are staying at. They have been invaluable in helping form quick relationships when language is a barrier.
The day ended with an impromptu game of catch behind the bus with Alex, Taylor and some boys from the area.
Not sure what tomorrow will bring. We are hoping to finish the houses tomorrow so that we can spend Thursday all in CBS in the morning and with the families in the afternoon. Pray for us to have another great day - and even more communication and relationship building with the families. God only knows what conversations we may have tomorrow.
God's Blessings --
-MJ
